Alex Morozoff's first attempt on Hound's goaltender, Austin Elliott, before scoring his unassisted goal in the third on Tuesday night in Humboldt. (Becky Zimmer/northeastNOW Staff)

By Becky Zimmer

Ugly win

Broncos battle for win after Hounds bite back

Feb 16, 2022 | 11:35 AM

Fans were on the edge of their seats at the Elgar Petersen Arena on Tuesday night as the Humboldt Broncos welcomed the Notre Dame Hounds to the barn.

It was a learning experience for the green and gold as a 4-0 lead in the second turned into them fighting to hold on to the win in the third.

Assistant coach, Carter Hansen, told northeastNOW they cannot have a repeat of that, taking a shift or a period off, as they head towards the playoffs.

“That’s something we got to tighten up going into playoffs is that you can’t have a period off, can’t have a shift off honestly. And I think we rebounded nicely in the third period to get a win and get two points.”

The Broncos have won eight out of nine of their meetings with the Hounds this season with their last meeting being the last game of the regular season for Humboldt.

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That can create some tension, said Hansen, especially since the Hounds are fighting for that last Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) playoff spot and the Broncos continue to fight for first.

“If we meet them in the playoffs, I think it’s just going to be one of those things that tensions get high and there’s going to be a lot of emotions playing against each other.”

The Broncos started off strong in the first with Lucas Ceccarelli taking a pass from Ethan Zielke on the penalty kill and finding the back of the net. This is Ceccarelli 16th of the season and now leads the league in shorthanded goals with four.

“Our penalty kill has been huge all season so if we can get some goals there that’s big for us and I’m just happy to contribute,” Ceccarelli told northeastNOW.

The goals would continue as Koran would take a pass from Alex Morozoff and his own rebound for his 23rd of the season. Seconds later, Nicksha Eric would sneak one past Austin Elliott with help from Connor McGrath for his fourth of the season.

Heading into the second, a beautiful breakaway by McGrath with help from Cage Newans would bring the Broncos to a 4-0 lead. However, the Hounds would pick up some speed with two goals in quick succession to end the second and a successful backdoor attack to kick off the third period.

Morozoff would give the Broncos some breathing room as the seconds ticked away, catching his own rebound off Elliott followed by an empty netter for his 15th and 16th season goals.

Goalie Rayce Ramsay would take the win for the Broncos stopping 25 out of 27 shots. This is now his 35th win of the season as he continues to wrap up his last year with the green and gold.

Ramsay was also honoured with Sasktel SJHL Goalie of the Week title for his work last week with two wins, 42 saves out of 44 shots on goal and a .955 save percentage.

“Our team, we’ve been playing well lately and that’s just a reflection of what we do on the ice,” Ramsay told northeastNOW.

Hansen said the Hounds deserve credit for how they played and while it wasn’t pretty at times, it is still two points in the Bronco’s favour.

“Honestly, give credit to Notre Dame. They played good and they’re playing for their playoff lives here.”

With those two points, the Broncos still trail the Estevan Bruins for first place in the SJHL with both teams having 76 points and the Broncos with an extra 60 minutes. Eight games now remain for the green and gold, including three more in their own barn.

Before meeting up for the Family Day afternoon game at the EPA on Monday, the Broncos will be hitting the road to Nipawin on Friday and Kindersley on Saturday.

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becky.zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @bex_zim